In case an automotive vehicle gets collided, there is a possibility in which a driver might encounter a secondary collision with a steering wheel due to inertia thereof. An impact absorbing type steering column apparatus is adopted in order to protect the driver on that occasion. A steering column is constructed so that an energy absorbing member, just when the driver secondarily collides with the steering wheel, gets collapsed while moving along a car body together with a steering shaft, and the steering column moves towards the front of the vehicle, thereby absorbing the impact energy thereof.
Given by way of one example of the impact absorbing type steering column apparatus is an impact energy absorbing system, wherein when the secondary collision happens, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2978788 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-229577, the impact energy is absorbed by causing flexural deformations of car body sided brackets (a tilt bracket and a lower bracket) through which the steering column is attached to the car body.
By the way, as in the case of Japanese Patent Publication No. 2978788, upon the secondary collision, the tilt bracket gets deformed in flexure towards the front of the vehicle by dint of impact energy thereof. Then, a tilt fastening bolt gets displaced along a tilt adjusting groove and reaches a lowest position of this tilt adjusting groove, in which case this implies an arrival at a terminal of a collapse stroke of the energy absorbing member, and the steering column stops its collapsing movement.
Further, also as in the case of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-229577, if the lower bracket makes a predetermined amount of its flexural deformation towards the front of the vehicle when the secondary collision occurs, it follows that the steering column reaches the terminal of its collapsing movement and stops its collapsing movement.
Thus, a normal operation of the steering column is that the steering column, generally when reaching the normally-set terminal of the collapsing movement, stops and makes no further collapsing movement.
Moreover, there exists a demand for properly adjusting a moving range of the steering column against the secondary collision, corresponding to a type and a shipping destination of the automotive vehicle.